In today's highly competitive business environment, the terms "Private Domain" and "Private Domain Traffic" have become hot topics that brands and merchants cannot avoid. It encompasses the copywriting of social circles in the era of micro-business, the group ordering in the era of community, independent mall sites in the era of mini-programs, group purchase chat bombarding in the era of group buying, and it is also the inevitable choice for businesses as platform traffic costs continue to rise.

1. What exactly is a Private Domain?

🙋 Simply put, Private Domain refers to a user traffic pool that brands or individuals can independently, freely, and repeatedly reach and utilize. It is the opposite of Public Domain; Public Domain represents traffic that needs to be purchased or obtained through platform rules, such as advertising placements or search rankings on platforms like Taobao, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu.

🔒 The core feature of Private Domain is "controllability". Once a user enters your private domain, you gain the permission to communicate with them directly. This private domain can be your personal WeChat account, corporate WeChat community, WeChat public account, mini-program, proprietary app, or even a members' group.

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2. Why is the Private Domain so important?

In the past, many brands relied heavily on public domain traffic, but this model has many drawbacks:

• 💰 The traffic dividend has peaked, and customer acquisition costs continue to rise: According to QuestMobile data, as of June 2025, the number of monthly active users across the internet has reached 1.267 billion; the average daily usage time per user and frequency are 7.97 hours and 117.9 times, respectively. The total number of users on the internet has reached 1.3 billion, and traffic is increasingly concentrated at the top, with major platforms ruthlessly harvesting traffic. Taking Douyin as an example, in 2023 its monetization rate has reached 9%-10%, with e-commerce GMV at 2.6 trillion, and the target for 2025 is 4.2 trillion. It is expected that Douyin's monetization rate may be around 10%-20%, meaning that the commission ratio from merchants' sales will increase; at the same time, the monetization rate also reflects aggressive traffic monetization. To put it bluntly, Douyin's advertisements will become more frequent, and users will see more and more ads, leading to declining conversion rates, which is one of the reasons why traffic is getting more expensive.

• 🏛️ Platform traffic limits, speech prohibitions, and account bans: Whether operating on Taobao, Douyin, or managing Zhihu, Xiaohongshu, faced with the sudden traffic limitations, speech bans, or account bans by platforms is the norm—light penalties may lead to a three-day speech ban affecting exposure, while severe penalties could lead to an account ban for three months, immediately cutting off traffic. Even the slightest penalties from these platforms can sever your communication channels with customers, severely leading to permanent customer loss. In contrast, WeChat's private domain is the only true safe and controllable territory: you can construct a client matrix using three, five, or even more accounts, and as long as your marketing methods are not excessive, even if other platforms fail, your WeChat ecosystem will remain strong. After all, while all platforms are taking away your users, only WeChat allows you to retain your customer resources.

• ⛓️ User consumption decisions have become rationalized and personalized: Post-pandemic, consumers are more focused on value for money and brand trust, adopting a rational attitude towards new brands and products. According to iResearch data, sensitivity to brand recommendations has increased from 65% in 2019 to 89% in 2025. If there is a lack of direct emotional connection between brands and users, once paid promotions stop, users may churn.

By adding users to WeChat and placing them in your private domain, you don't have to pay for ads, reaching out for free. Although enterprise WeChat has a per capita fee of 0.1 yuan/year, it is negligible compared to promotion costs. The benefits of WeChat's private domain are clearly divided into two types: merchants gain marketing dominance; customer management is more cost-effective

High.

• 👌 Merchants hold marketing initiative: In the WeChat ecosystem—whether in Moments, WeChat groups, or one-on-one chats—you can promote more freely: send coupons, conduct promotional activities, organize group purchases, and even guide directly to transactions. More crucially, WeChat allows you to lay out across platforms without worrying about traffic limits, speech bans, or account closures. On Douyin, it is hard to openly guide traffic to Xiaohongshu or WeChat; however, within WeChat, you can freely share the practices, cases, and even directly sell related products. The rules are more lenient, the reach is more direct, making WeChat's private domain truly your commercial stage.

• 🫶 Customer management is more cost-effective: Once users are deposited into the private domain, the costs for repeat purchases, referrals, and other actions are much lower than acquiring customers from scratch. Through refined content, activities, and one-on-one communication, brands can establish trust and emotional connections with users, transforming them from "buyers" into "fans" or even "loyal advocates for the brand," thereby extending users' lifecycle, promoting multiple repurchases and word-of-mouth marketing, maximizing the value of each individual user.

3Chat.ai makes it easy to link to corporate WeChat in three steps, automating private domain operations. There is a 15-day free trial available; click the link to try it out.

3. Three Steps to Set Up a Private Domain Traffic Flow System

From the content above, we have understood the importance of private domain to merchants, but without traffic, a private domain is just an empty pond. The water needs to be drawn from public domain platforms. Many people overlook the traffic introduction when discussing private domain traffic, not realizing that the precondition for the entire process is to do a good job of drawing traffic. Without traffic, future operations like tagging, content publishing, and promotional activities have no point of force. Introducing traffic into the private domain is not just giving users a QR code or a link to jump to WeChat; it requires a complete traffic introduction system 🫴.

1. Where to draw traffic❓

(1) Content Channels: Attract users by publishing high-quality content on major content platforms.

• Mainstream Platforms: Douyin, Kuaishou, Xiaohongshu, Zhihu.

• Other Platforms: Bilibili, Douban, Tieba, public accounts, Weibo, and some vertical forums (e.g., Mummy Network).

• Core: The content must be valuable, can solve user problems, and once recognized, it will naturally attract attention.

(2) Order Channels: Acquire users from e-commerce platforms (Taobao, JD, Pinduoduo, etc.) or community group purchases.

• Method of Operation: Convert users into private domain friends through phone calls, text messages, parcel cards, and proactive adds.

(3) Offline Channels: Use offline stores or promotional activities to gain traffic.

• Common Scenarios: Guidance by sales staff in chain stores for clothing, beauty, etc. to add WeChat or corporate WeChat.

Before starting to draw traffic, the most important step is to clarify which external channels you can utilize.

2. Exposure Channels for Traffic Introduction❓

Once the source of traffic is determined, you need to display your traffic introduction information (like WeChat ID, QR code) to users, telling them how they can join our private domain and obtain services. The costs and risks of proactively adding customers on WeChat are high, while guiding users to add our WeChat (group) is relatively safe and quick.

(1) Account Information: Use the public information of your account for exposure.

• Avatar: Add contact information as a corner mark.

• Nickname: Directly prompt users on how to contact you in your nickname.

• Profile: The most common and effective method, you can leave WeChat, public account, phone number, email, etc.

• Background Image: Can display more information and is less likely to be detected by the system.

(2) Interaction and Content: Incorporate traffic introduction information in your engagement with users or in the content itself.

• Comment Section: Directly guide users in comments on platforms like public accounts, Weibo, and Tieba; Douyin can also be used sometimes.

• Auto Replies: Set up automatic replies after following, leaving contact information.

• Private Messages: Guide users to add WeChat through private message conversations.

• In Content: Directly display WeChat ID or QR code in articles, live streams, etc.

(3) Order Stage: Use order packages for traffic introduction.

• Package Cards: Place discount or cashback cards inside the package to guide users to scan and add.

• Product Manuals: For hardware products, directly print the information on the manual.

⚠️ Three Points to Note About Traffic Introduction Exposure:

1. Platform Rules: Each platform has different traffic introduction rules, so research them carefully before operating to avoid violations.

2. Information Consistency: Ensure consistency in your account name, avatar, and other information across different platforms for user-friendly searching and recognition.

3. Indirect Approach: If the platform does not allow direct traffic introduction to WeChat, guide users to follow a public account, Weibo, etc., and then through the content or activities from those platforms, ultimately direct the users to WeChat.

3. How to Draw Traffic❓

This step is the most vital, marking the last decision point for users to enter the private domain, setting up the bait for drawing traffic. Why do users join the private domain? Besides admiration and recognition, the core reasons are: service and discounts.

(1) Valuable Services: Provide exclusive services to attract users. This includes:

• Business Services: Such as one-on-one consulting in real estate or car sales.

• Consulting Services: As long as the content is recognized by users, it will surely have a traffic distraction effect, such as self-media bloggers offering free Q&A.

• After-sales Services: For many brands, especially in the home appliance and 3C digital industry, after-sales traffic introduction is also a basic necessity.

(2) Valuable Resources: Attract users who wish to establish business contacts by showcasing your resources and connections in the industry. Even if no specific benefits are set, as long as the content is valuable, people will actively add you.

(3) Discounts that Promote Decision-making:

• Coupon Traffic Introduction: The most common method. By offering attractive coupons (such as discounts for adding WeChat, cash back for good reviews), encourage users to add WeChat. It is essential to ensure that the coupon amount is not too low and the usage range is not too limited; having no thresholds or larger discount incentives are more appealing.

• Resource Traffic Introduction: Suitable for knowledge payment, training, consulting, and other industries. Provide free e-books, industry reports, operation manuals, etc., to attract potential customers. The resource content should be designed based on the target user group (ordinary users or high-end clients).

• Physical Traffic Introduction: Attract users by giving away tangible items, such as books, maps, or even small gifts (tissues, rice, etc.). This method has good traffic effects, but the key lies in how to recover costs through conversions afterward.

• Opportunity Traffic Introduction: Leverage users' "scarcity mentality" through lottery chances, limited spots, etc., encouraging users to add WeChat to gain participation qualifications.

4. How to Convert Private Domain Traffic into Retained Traffic

On the internet, someone has summarized a formula for converting private domain traffic into retained traffic 🫱: Retained Traffic = Channel + Traffic Introduction + Maintenance + Transaction. Since we have clarified the types of our channels and the traffic introduction system, the next step is to consider how to maintain users and convert them. AI cannot replace the entire process of user maintenance and transaction. Still, in the scenarios surrounding new customer engagement, old customer management, and transaction analysis, integrating AI 🤖 to improve operational efficiency is an increasingly popular choice for many enterprises today. Next, we will share how AI can effectively carry out operations in the private domain along the entire operational chain.

1. For new customers who are just settled into the private domain, in the consulting service stage, AI customer service has realized 24/7 response, reducing the average response time from 5-20 minutes with humans to under 30 seconds, significantly enhancing customer satisfaction. Particularly outside of working hours, these consulting processes can be handled completely by AI, effectively capturing customers who would otherwise have churned. Depending solely on humans, sales may not ensure timely response, and levels may vary. However, AI doesn't work like that; you can set how long it must respond and the rhythm of the responses. As long as the SOP is detailed enough, AI can also achieve bulk recall functionality. For example, if customers do not reply in 5 minutes, 2 hours, or half a day, AI can proceed with bulk recalls according to pre-set processes.

2. In the proactive chat phase, merchants can design and develop their own exclusive "Top Seller SOP" process based on their business workflows and data, enabling AI customer service to automatically trigger precise communication scripts according to customer label types and historical interactions. **This way, AI customer service can proactively reach out to customers and communicate to finalize transactions; if not completed, it can automatically follow the maintenance SOP to continuously empower customers, greatly extending the customer lifecycle, while merchants can also use AI customer service to activate dormant customers in bulk.

3. In terms of customer conversion, AI's greatest value is reflected in precise screening and label management. It can automatically identify and label high-value potential customers, focusing the team's 80% of effort on the 20% of customers most likely to convert. This strategy, as per relevant companies' examples, can elevate the overall conversion rate for high unit-cost products from the original 7% to over 20%, with the average sale price also increasing by about 15%.

4. In the order completion stage, AI customer service can self-submit transaction links and offer promises for after-sales service. At the same time, AI customer service can synchronize inquiry data to the enterprise CRM system in real time based on the MCP protocol, analyzing frequent issues and user behaviors, optimizing course designs and marketing strategies.

Moreover, converting new followers is challenging by itself. Company veteran sales usually only focus on large clients and Class A customers, neglecting new traffic customers or small clients, leading to many new followers being unable to convert. However, AI does not work like that; it is a helpful assistant for execution. As long as the SOPs and scripts are detailed enough, combining the experiences of top sellers into scripts for AI will achieve precise operations. Furthermore, it can effectively avoid execution issues, eliminating concerns of untimely responses, incomplete outreach, or unclear replies.

The core value of the private domain does not lie in short-term harvesting, but in continuously managing the conversion of "traffic" into "retained traffic"— that is, users with high loyalty and high repurchase rates. AI allows you to break free from repetitive Q&A, focusing on more valuable tasks, creating content that users find more interesting because ultimately, users need to see you before they can choose you.